The Reflective Essay

Most reflective essays can be divided into three parts:

1. Event or Incident: The writer describes some event or incident or set of circumstances. In this essay, the event or incident will involve in some way how you experienced being an outsider or “stranger in the village.” This event or incident need not be something earth-shattering but should be something that had an impact on you in some way.
2. Response: The writer describes his or her feelings and thoughts during this event or incident.
3. Reflection: The writer of the essay reflects on the incident or event. In the reflection, the writer will often make a transition from describing a situation unique to him or her to a discussion more universal in nature. In some cases, the writer may reflect upon what he or she learned from the incident or the effect it had on his or her life overall.

Some helpful guidelines:

• Tell what happened in time order, from start to finish, using first-person (“I”) point of view. Do not, however, address the reader by using “you.” For instance, do not say, “I am going to tell you something you won’t believe.
• Show, rather than tell, how you were feeling as the event took place.
• Use vivid sensory details to tell the reader how things sounded, felt, smelled, as well as how they looked. Help the reader experience what you were experiencing.
• Vary your sentence beginnings and structures. Use transitional words and phrases so that your writing flows.

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Brainstorming: Reflective Essay
Think of three incidents for this essay and write down the details:

Incident # 1
People Involved:

What Happened:

How I felt:

What I Learned:

Incident # 2
People Involved:

What Happened:

How I felt:

What I Learned:

Incident # 3
People Involved:

What Happened:

What I felt:

What I Learned: